Conservation fund eyes 4 properties near Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Part of 'mitigation' agreement for power line right of way

Two electrical utilities have created a $66 million "mitigation fund" for the National Park Service as compensation for allowing massive power lines and towers to cross the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area near Bushkill.

Two electrical utilities have created a $66 million "mitigation fund" for the National Park Service as compensation for allowing massive power lines and towers to cross the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area near Bushkill.

A conservation group designated to manage the fund already has negotiated conditional acquisitions of four properties just outside the recreation area, totaling about 300 acres, for a combined $1.3 million, according to court records filed by the park service.

PPL Electric Utilities of Pennsylvania and PSE&G of New Jersey signed agreements Dec. 12 with the park service establishing the fund and formally authorizing construction across a 4.5-mile section of the park, court records show.

The National Park Service last fall authorized use of a power line right of way predating the park — including replacing 28 95-foot-tall towers with 195-foot towers — in return for "mitigation" of unavoidable project impacts to wetlands, wildlife and natural views of the park.

The $66 million mitigation fund will be partly used to buy and protect from development thousands of acres surrounding the 70,000-acre recreation area.

The Susquehanna-Roseland line is a two-state 147-mile project to move additional electricity to New Jersey to limit potential power disruptions.

An environmental coalition has filed suit in federal court challenging the approval, calling the project unnecessary, environmentally destructive and in violation of environmental laws.

Pending land purchases contiguous to the park negotiated by The Conservation Fund include:

A contract to buy 145 acres in Bushkill, near the recreation area's headquarters that is heavily wooded and includes a tributary of Sand Hill Creek and wetlands.

An option to buy 33 acres of forested land in Monroe County near Hidden Lake.

An option to buy 44 acres of forested property near Milford Borough, visible from the Appalachian Trail and including 1,000 feet of frontage to Sawkill Creek. The now-closed property was once a popular recreation site for residents and visitors, according to the court exhibit.

A sales contract to buy 60 acres in Montague, N.J., near the recreation area's intersection with High Point State Park and Stokes State Forest. Sandystone Creek flows through the property, which includes 10-plus acres of wetlands.

Additional land purchases are expected.

Portions of the $66 million also are required to be used inside the recreation area:

Up to $13 million to compensate for impacts to cultural resources.

Up to $12 million to restore at least 30 acres of wetland habitat impacted inside the power line right of way.

A total of $7 million for post-construction monitoring and reimbursing the park service for its costs in supervising and monitoring construction permits.

Money will be spent solely on projects nominated by the director of the National Park Service, possibly after consulting with Pennsylvania and New Jersey state officials and area conservation and recreation groups.

"The National Park Service is the governing agency on how the mitigation dollars will be spent," PPL spokesman Paul Wirth said. "It's a very positive story here."

Not so, said Jeff Tittle, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, among environmental groups trying to overturn the power line approval in federal court.

"My feeling is it's blood money and it is being used to rationalize this" power line, Tittle said. "We have to do the job the park service didn't do, which is protect public lands for public use."

The National Park Service in Washington directed inquiries for comment to Delaware Water Gap NRA Superintendent John Donahue or regional park service officials.